Incident Response

I just read a poem called Incident, by  Countee Cullen, and I found the poem confusing, because it did not make any sense to me in the beginning  because I didn't understand why he was talking about one memory about that place.  I thought that he was going to talk about his life in Baltimore.  I also did not really find it interesting what happened to him in the bus.  I think that it was just something that has passed and that it is over, and not to be reminded of again.

One line that stands out for me in the poem is " but he poked out his tongue and called me a Niger."  I think that this one was the main point of what the poem was about.  In that line he could have just said that line and that would say a whole story.  I did understand that quote in the poem because of the time period it was and the civil rights movement that was still going on or starting at that time.

Another line that I found weird or interesting was " I saw the whole of Baltimore from May until December."  I think that this quote is like a whole story as well it just said that the whole time that is what he can remember in his time in Baltimore.  That means to me that he did not find anything interesting in the city, and did not do anything much while he was there.  I also did not make sense to me at the beginning because at first i thought it meant that he saw all of Baltimore from May until December, and that that's it.

Incident does not remind me of anything.  All the stories that I have read were OK, but this one is different than all the others.  Although I didn't understand it as much, I did find it interesting.

I would give it another try if I see another passage or literature piece by this author, because I will want to see what else he can write, and if it catches me eye this time.